Intermission
by Vervent
Summary: Life is made up of moments, both fleeting and forever. As the life of the runner-up of the Dead or Alive 5 tournament returns to normal, she begins to notice these patterns all too often. Memories she will cherish, people she will never forget, and moments that pass all too quickly. And slowly, surely, she discovers a revelation that she cannot deny. Life can be a funny thing.
1. Chapter 1

**Intermission**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

It was the spot of many circumstances. Sightseeing, relaxation, first dates. Second dates, if it ever went that far.

Only once had it gotten there for Hitomi. But then again, she wasn't really trying either. A busy girl with little time on her hands.

It didn't leave her much chance to chase down relationships, and the very few she did ended almost as soon as they began.

But she contented herself for now. While the prospect of being alone for the rest of her life was not appealing, she knew that time would play its course.

She was still young. Twenty years, and with many more ahead, or at least she hoped.

Her prior endeavours could have helped to cut a few years off, but Hitomi simply laughed at that. She brushed a hand across her temple, flicking a lock of her brown hair.

This was her favourite spot, a lonesome little park sat high above a portion the city, which gave an almost unobstructed view over the place she called home.

Others might have called it stupid: participating in a tournament alongside some of the greatest, the most skilled, and perhaps the most dangerous fighters in the world. They might have said it wasn't worth the risk.

Hitomi, though, called it opportunity.

If they were the best of the best, then she was right up there with them. Each and every one a respectable combatant in their own right, some of which she even had the capacity to call friends, something she would have never expected going in at first.

Although that was two years ago. Her nerves had been shot. Hitomi hadn't really known what to expect, so she reacted the only way she knew how. She gave it her all.

Back then, she'd taken _Third _place. Now, two years later, she took _Second_. She really had improved. The sting of disappointment from barely missing out on that coveted _First_ place seemed less severe once she realised that.

Her opponent was fierce, swift, powerful, but she did not go down without a fight. In the end, he bested her. And that was nothing to be ashamed about. This time, Jann Lee could proudly call himself champion.

But next time. Hitomi nodded to herself. _Next time._

Hitomi leaned onto the stone wall and propped her head against her left fist, gazing out toward the horizon.

A soft, warm breeze brushed her skin as the setting sun basked orange over the city of Freiburg. The sight never failed to comfort her, and she was lucky enough to arrive in time to see it.

All the traveling, courtesy of a certain friend as well as the Dead or Alive 5 tournament, had left her exhausted.

As much as she loved to see the world, flying was something she would never get used to. Being cooped up for hours on end, barely able to move around, was about as appealing to her as a hole in the head.

Though Hitomi didn't know what was more terrifying: a massive plane with a hundred or so people on it, or the helicopter with Zack at the helm.

Hitomi had to smile, thinking back on it. He was a good pilot to be fair, even if she and Leifang were rather sceptical at first, but then with how he usually acted it was only natural to have suspicions. In the end, he proved they were worrying about nothing.

It was pretty cool to ride front-seat on a helicopter anyway. Leifang was _very_ annoyed at that.

After being dragged off to South America by her Chinese friend on a 'journey of training' however, she figured she deserved something that could one-up her, no matter how small.

Thank God she had finished her exams before Leifang turned up on her doorstep, packed to the high heavens and offering a proposal that would not be refused.

It had come as a complete surprise to Hitomi, not so much the proposal itself – she expected such things from her friend – but the fact that she had turned up completely unannounced, based on an address she'd told her over a year ago, and was unprepared to take "No" for an answer.

Hitomi sometimes wondered if her friend actually understood what "No" meant.

She almost regretted giving Leifang her apartment's address all that time ago. Almost.

Going on a pseudo-safari escapade through South American jungle was not something she did every day, and Hitomi had to admit that she had enjoyed herself. It was highly unlikely anything like that would ever happen again.

Then again, with Leifang, she never could tell.

Hitomi played with the strap of her training glove, thinking about how she and her Tai Chi Quan practicing friend had discussed going somewhere together for a holiday – a _normal_ one at that - once the tournament was out of the way. Leifang was the one who suggested it, and they both agreed it would be fun, but with her final year of university soon starting, Hitomi told her she would have to play it by ear. Her studies came first.

Besides, she'd had enough adventure for now.

Hitomi gripped the outer edge of the stone wall with both hands and stood up straight.

She was back in Germany now. Back home. No matter how far she seemed to go, she always came back. Like a boomerang. A blue-eyed home-bird returning to her nest.

Hitomi bit down slightly on her lower lip, savouring the beautiful vista before her. It would be dark before long.

She had visited her apartment first to drop off her luggage after luckily nabbing a taxi from the Strasbourg International Airport, which had cost her a small fortune but she didn't mind paying it. Her father did not know she was back and she wanted to surprise him with a visit, so any price to stay undercover was a price worth paying.

But before that, Hitomi wanted to visit her favourite spot. _Her_ spot. She looked over to her bike, sat against the wall to her right. Then as she glanced back out towards the light dwindling on the horizon, a smile formed on her lips.

It was good to be home, and at this moment there was no other place in the world she would rather be.

* * *

It was already dark by the time Hitomi reached her father's home, but the light emanating from the lampposts kept her vision clear. She sat outside on her bicycle, pressing one foot against the ground to keep her balance. Her face was stoic as she scanned the house.

She wouldn't have called it the fanciest of houses, but it certainly wasn't a shack. While the profits from the family dojo never broke the bank, it provided them a decent lifestyle.

It was still the same as it ever was, even after all this time. Eighteen years of memories were held within its walls, good and bad.

There weren't any lights on inside judging by the front windows. Her father normally wouldn't be out at this hour, especially during the working week, but it seemed too early for him to be asleep.

Hitomi swung her leg off the bike and set it up against the wooden fence. She opened the gate and moved down the garden path.

The lawn was mowed short and looked pristine. Even in the low light it was indicative of her father's meticulous care. Gardening really wasn't her thing.

She rang the doorbell once and waited a few moments. When there was no answer, she tried again, looking around her. Eventually, she reached into the inner pocket of her denim jacket and produced a set of keys, searching for the right one of many held together by the ring. When she found it, she made her way through the front door.

"Guess who," she called out, in the vain hope that she might get a reply. But as she had come to expect, there was none. She closed the door behind her and stored her keys away again, then moved into the living room, switching the light on as she entered.

The thick carpet muffled the heavy steps of her boots. Everything seemed untouched. It was more than a familiar sight to Hitomi.

Her first instinct was to check the garage, and when she opened up the connecting door from the kitchen, she saw that his car was missing. She pulled her lips in at the sight of the empty space then moved back into the living room to sit down.

Wherever he was, she imagined he wouldn't be too long. _Probably at the dojo._

The absolute silence unnerved her. It was always rather quiet and peaceful here she supposed, but something about it now felt odd. The sound of her own breathing suddenly became more noticeable to her. She held her hands together between her knees, casting her gaze around the living room.

It was fairly plain; a little glass coffee table sitting around the middle, couple of pictures hung on the walls. Hitomi was never a fan of his wallpaper choice, some red and white duo-toned affair. Looked garish in her opinion, but then she guessed it must have been the style at the time. It mustn't have bothered him if he'd kept it all these years, and she didn't have the heart to tell him what she really thought of it.

Hitomi yawned deeply then shook her head. Jet lag was finally catching up to her, and it didn't help that she got no sleep on the flight over. She rubbed her eyes using her fingers in an effort to keep herself awake, wondering what on earth her father could be doing.

After five minutes of playing with her gloves and occasionally yawning, she stood up, groaning inwardly as she stretched her arms up towards the roof ceiling. She considered using her cellphone to ring him and see what was going on, but decided against it. She was here to surprise him, and that would have killed it.

She sighed and went back into the main hall, sat on the bottom step of the set of stairs and leaned her chin in-between her hands and stared at the door for a few minutes.

"Oh come on Dad," Hitomi said to no one but herself.

Patience was not one of her strong suits even on the best of days. She wasn't exactly worried about him, really. It was just…

_Maybe you should just ring him._

With another long sigh, she got to her feet and went upstairs, dismissing her thought. Maybe she could find something there that would occupy her.

Not bothering with the lights, she scouted out a door she knew all too well, left at the top of the stairs. She opened it, not failing even once to find the handle in the darkness.

Moonlight shone through the window along the right wall. This time, she turned the lights on.

Her father hadn't touched her old bedroom since she had left two years ago. The bed and drawers were still in their usual place, since her apartment came furnished already and she didn't need to take them with her. They were pretty old anyway.

That which she did move into her new home had left almost everything else about her old bedroom feeling bare.

Hitomi brushed her fingertips against the smooth sky-blue wall. She remembered helping to paint it all those years ago – though being eight at the time she was sure she was more of a hindrance than a help, and usually ended up with more paint on herself than the wall – and how he wouldn't let her stay in the room for too long in case "The bad fumes start to make you feel sick." Hitomi smiled and chuckled at the memory.

She wandered over to her old drawer and slid one open. Little scraps of paper, a nail file she never once used and an old notebook. She picked up the notebook and ruffled through it, landing on a page stuffed full of childish doodles as something fell out from between the pages and landed at her feet. Curious, she crouched down and picked it up and moved back to sit on the bed, taking the notebook with her.

It was a clear plastic sleeve holding a picture that she immediately recognised. In it was a sixteen year old her, three students of the dojo to her left and behind them, Frederick - her Father - and the other instructors. Everyone was dressed in Karate Gi's, stood outside the front of the dojo and beaming for the camera. Their local paper had run an article on the dojo and this was one of the pictures they took. Hitomi had cut it out from the newspaper to keep it.

"Oh man," she breathed out. _How did I forget to take this with me?_

When she inspected it closer, she saw that her father had his hands on her shoulders and was smiling brightly. She laughed to herself. One of his rare smiles caught on camera. She ran her thumb gently across the picture, and then carefully put it into her jacket's inside pocket.

Another yawn and her body started to feel tense. Try as she might, no amount of stretching would help. She threw her back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling, and when that became uncomfortable, she pulled her legs up onto the bed, turned onto her side and rested her head on the pillow.

It helped her relax and eased some of the tension, but she could feel her eyes growing heavy. She didn't want to sleep, but at the same time couldn't bring herself to move. She pulled her cellphone out of her jean pocket and checked the time. 9:37 PM.

_Maybe just a little rest_, she thought. Just until her father got home.

She set her phone on the bedside table, shuffled a little bit to make herself more comfortable and closed her eyes, not at all bothered by the light still glowing in the room.

Hitomi didn't get up again until eleven the next morning.

And when she did, she could have slapped herself. She growled in frustration into the pillow, annoyed that she'd let herself fall asleep like that.

_Stupid stupid __**stupid**__._

When she twisted around, she realised two things; the light was off, now replaced by sunlight coming through the window, and she had a thin cover around her which hadn't been there before.

And since she wasn't a sleepwalker - as far as she was aware - it only meant one thing.

Hitomi threw the covers aside and pushed herself off the bed, only now noticing that she was still wearing her boots. She didn't realise she was _that_ tired.

She travelled slowly down the stairs, trying to fix her hair which looked, and felt, all over the place.

When she stepped into the living room she saw him there, sitting in the armchair at the far end of the room, already looking towards the doorway as though expecting her. He held a mug slightly tilted toward his lips but not touching, frozen in place. They simply stared at each other, neither one moving.

Eventually, Hitomi broke the silence. "Hi," was all she came up with.

He seemed to take it as his cue to finish sipping his drink.

He set the mug on the table in front of him, staring at her all the while.

Hitomi coughed a little, meeting his stare. "I'm back."

He chuckled quietly. "I've noticed."

"Well, you know, didn't want to make it too obvious." She laughed at herself, scratching her temple in embarrassment.

"It was certainly a surprise."

"Well then…mission accomplished!"

He raised a hand towards the sofa, motioning for her to sit down. She did so. He reached over and grabbed the mug and took another sip.

Hitomi went on: "This isn't exactly how I planned it would go down though."

"You obviously needed the rest."

"Shouldn't have laid down. Although, maybe if _someone_ had been home it wouldn't have happened."

"Perhaps if _someone _had given their poor old papa a little call before coming down, he would have expected a visit." He raised a slight eyebrow at Hitomi, which only made her smile.

"That wouldn't have been much of a surprise, would it?"

"No, but peace of mind is better than surprises any day of the week." Hitomi's eyes dimmed a little.

"Sorry. I should have called you when I got off the plane. It was silly of me." Her father simply shook his head, took one last gulp and stood up.

"No harm done."

He moved into the kitchen without looking at her. Hitomi wanted to follow, but remained rooted in her seat. He honestly didn't seem upset by what she'd done and didn't want to pester him even more about it, even though she wanted to explain herself.

Not moments later, he returned with a glass of orange juice in hand. He passed it to Hitomi. She hesitated slightly before taking it.

"Thanks." Her father nodded once and then sat back down in his previous spot.

"Well, hopefully you've had a good night's rest at least. How was your flight?"

"It was alright, if you don't count that I couldn't get any sleep because of these two kids that sat beside me. Which is probably why I was so tired, really."

Her father chuckled, simply watching her face with his deep blue eyes. Hitomi took a generous gulp of the sweet juice and held the glass on her lap with both hands, looking down at it. "And, uh, thank you for the cover last night," she said, remembering how she'd woken up with a sheet around her.

"You looked cold."

She met his eyes with her own.

"What were you doing anyway?"

He answered instantly: "Dojo." Hitomi nodded understandingly. That was all he needed to say.

"Thought so."

"My heart was racing though when I turned into the driveway and saw the living room lights were on. Thought maybe some burglar was trying their hand while I was away. Or maybe that I'd forgotten to switch them off before I left." Hitomi chuckled at that. "But then I saw a bike sitting against the fence and it all clicked together."

"That could've belonged to anyone," said Hitomi. Her father had a cheeky twinkle in his eye, something Hitomi always noticed when he had more information to reveal.

"You see, I considered that at first, but then I looked closer and saw that the front gate wasn't closed over – as a certain _someone_ is prone to – and thought 'Definitely Hit—" The German girl immediately sighed.

"Daaaaad!"

The twinkle in his eyes usually meant the information wasn't in her favour.

He chuckled deeply and gave the slightest hint of a smile. "Maybe one day when you have a little fence of your own, you'll remember to keep it closed."

"Oh jeez, a whole fence all to myself. You make it sound like it's a life goal."

"Isn't it? In a sense."

"If you're a fence enthusiast, maybe."

"Well let's not get into extremes now." He leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. "As a fence _owner_ though, I would appreciate it if you didn't leave your bicycle sitting against it. Unless you want to paint it over if it scratches anything." Hitomi rubbed her chin, pretending to contemplate it. Then, she pointed at him.

"Only if I can paint it blue."

"Oh, you'll be doing all the posts then?"

"Nope. Just the one I 'scratch' - which I can totally promise you won't ever happen."

"Oh, we will see about that. But…hmm, I'm not liking the offer. One blue post, all the rest brown. Something seems a little bit wrong with that."

"You have to admit, it'd be really unique."

He stroked his pale blonde moustache with finger and thumb. "I'll have to pass on it. Just try not to destroy the fence on me."

Hitomi's mouth went agape slightly and she puffed out her cheeks, acting annoyed. He simply stared at her. Their eyes narrowed, as if competing with one another, and then she stuck her tongue out. He shook his head and they both shared a laugh, until Hitomi looked away. She missed being able to joke around with her father like that.

Hitomi downed the rest of her drink, enjoying the taste, and set the empty glass on the coffee table. When she looked back at her father, he was stroking his trimmed moustache again, looking off toward the television.

"You really should shave that, you know," Hitomi said.

"So you say," he answered, not looking at her.

"You'd look so much younger if you did though." This time he glanced, and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't like it?" Hitomi screwed up her mouth and shrugged.

"Just saying. Personal preference."

"Of course, and I think it's fine where it is." He shot out a wink at her and she took her turn to shake her head, grinning.

A silence came between them. He leaned his head back against the armchair.

Hitomi couldn't help but feel uneasy. The one thing she expected him to remark about hadn't turned up in conversation yet, as though he didn't even want to mention it.

It wasn't as though she sought attention from it. In fact she could go another day happily without receiving yet another 'congratulations' from random strangers that recognised her. But if there was one person she wanted an opinion from, it was her father, the man she respected and trusted like no other.

Was he…disappointed with her?

"Second place isn't so bad, is it?" She blurted it out without even thinking and then brought a hand to her mouth when she realised, like she could force the words back in.

He looked at her, his face betraying no emotion, and simply said, "No."

It didn't relax her any.

She clasped her hands, running a thumb over her other thumb, looking down towards the ground.

"You should be proud of your result."

"I know." She nodded, eyes fixed firmly on the carpet, not wanting to meet her Father's gaze. "I am. If I just hadn't made that one mistake…I could have had it."

The memory flashed back in her mind, how Jann Lee had played her at the eleventh hour, forced her into the wrong judgement, left herself open to his famed Dragon Kick. She could have prevented it, easily. But it was too late now.

"All it takes is one mistake," he said. Hitomi noted the seriousness in his words. But, he did not sound disappointed. Hitomi finally looked at him and saw the caring look in his eyes, then simply nodded.

"But if you must know, Hitomi, you handled it very well." He reached over and held a strong hand on her knee and shook it playfully. Lovingly.

Hitomi broke out a toothy smile, her little stint of paranoia dissipating. Hearing him say that meant the world to her.

"And I think the other students would say no different." Hitomi held a hand on his, feeling the roughness of his skin on hers.

"Thanks Papa." He slowly nodded, and then they pulled their hands away.

"Now, will you stay for something to eat?"

"I should probably go home for now. I can get myself something later." She said it regretfully but he smiled in response. A proper smile this time.

"That's okay. You still look quite tired. Maybe some more sleep in your own bed will do you some good."

Hitomi giggled. "Well, technically I've already slept in my own bed today."

"You have outgrown that one though," he said, rather sadly she noted. "But, anyway. You might want to change out of those clothes too."

Hitomi looked down at her jeans, noticing the creases that had formed in them during the night. "That's what I get for sleeping in them." Her father chuckled warmly.

"Your bicycle is in the garage," he told her. "Didn't want to leave it sitting outside."

Hitomi stood up, trying to smooth out her clothes as best as she could. When she looked up again, she saw her father already standing with his arms outstretched to her. She stifled a giggle, immediately recognising the gesture, and stepped forward to wrap her arms around his waist. They squeezed together for a good long moment, then separated. He held onto her shoulders.

"It's good to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back."

Suddenly, a worried expression grew on his face and he carefully rubbed his thumb underneath her left eye, as though he had only noticed the cut beneath it now that they were closer together.

She simply grabbed his wrist and gave a little smile. "Don't worry. It'll heal."

"It looks deep, Hitomi. You should let someone have a look at it."

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt. All it needs is some time to heal itself."

Surprisingly, he put up little resistance to her decision. All he did was examine it closer, then after a moment said, "Let's hope it doesn't leave a scar." He backed off and Hitomi bowed her head a little to him.

While she was no medical professional, she knew it was nothing serious. Although, she had lied. It still stung occasionally, her pride moreso. No matter, she thought. With enough time it would heal naturally. All of it.

She was happy her father didn't press the matter. The fact that he didn't notice it until they were close was a good sign too. At least it wasn't a glaringly obvious mark.

The fact that she had went to three tournaments by this point and taken minimal damage overall was a testament to _something_, at least.

Not wanting to up and leave immediately, Hitomi fixed up the bed she'd spent the night in, taking her old doodle filled notepad which had fallen onto the floor during the night, then helped her father wash the few dirty dishes there were.

He washed, she dried; like they always worked it.

They used the time to catch up about the little things: the dojo, mostly. When she mentioned coming back to work as of next week, he all but demanded she take another week to get back into her old routines, which she reluctantly accepted. She had no choice, of course. There were some things that her father could not be swayed on.

When they finished, she entered the garage and prepared her bike. Her father stood at the doorway, using the nearby control box to open the garage door. Sunlight streamed in. Looked like it would continue to be a good day.

Hitomi mounted the bike and looked back to her father, who stood out from the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. To her, he still looked as strong as ever.

"Are you sure you won't stay for some food?" he asked.

"I'm sure," she answered.

"Okay then." Her father gave a single nod, and she returned the same. "Take care, Hitomi."

Before she could leave, he called out after her again.

"And one other thing." Hitomi looked over her shoulder. "Next time you plan on visiting, make an effort to inform me. You could always do with phoning me more often." He gave her the cheekiest wink he could muster, the sight of which made Hitomi giggle.

"Yessir."

With a wave over her shoulder, she drifted down the driveway, feeling the warm breeze on her face as she let the momentum carry her, then took on a steady pace as she made the journey back home, and as she crossed the familiar sights and streets that she had left behind for two months, a gleeful feeling built up inside of her.

There really was no place like home.


	2. Chapter 2

Aside from the visit to her father's, Hitomi's first day back had been rather uneventful. She made it home safe and sound, and went straight to work: she did her daily kata routine, then sorted out her luggage – which took longer than expected - cleaned the fridge of everything that had expired during her travels and made a quick meal out of whatever she still considered edible, opting to put off the shopping in a bout of laziness, then sifted through the mountain of mail that had gathered up. Most of it was junk, only good for lighting the fireplace she didn't have. Everything else was bills and payments.

She would have thrown them into a fire too.

By the time she finished all that, it was reaching into the evening. Not feeling the need to start into doing something else, she treated herself to a good long shower, an action movie, and then took herself off to bed for an early night.

To say she felt amazing on waking up the next morning would have been an understatement, and she wasn't even sure why.

Hitomi practically bounded out of her room, wearing nothing but a long white t-shirt, a pair of shorts and a classic case of bed hair. It took her a moment to notice and detach the bed sheet she was accidently dragging along with her right foot. With a smirk, she balled it all up in her hands, took aim, then kicked it back into the bedroom where it hit against the side of her drawers and promptly unravelled itself.

She pumped her fists into the air like she'd just scored the winning goal for her football team, then swung around and headed for the balcony doors.

It reminded her that she needed to get a new jersey before the next semester started. Even after a year since she joined the University football team, she still couldn't believe that she had been approached, personally, by the coach of the female team after only a few try-out sessions. Frankly, she thought she had performed terribly in them, but obviously someone saw potential in her.

So Hitomi decided to take the chance, and while she knew she would never be star player material, she could feel herself improving with every match she played, and her teammates seemed to like having her around. Maybe it was because she could kick the ball really far. That's what football was all about anyway, right?

A chilly breeze flowed through the balcony doors as she opened them, and she shuddered a little when it touched her bare legs. The first morning wind was always the coldest to her. She took a deep breath of fresh air through her nose, with her eyes closed, then exhaled and enjoyed the view for a while, leaning against the doorway.

Living on the third floor of six in the apartment building had its benefits. The best was the panorama, her favourite aspect of which was the line of green and trees far off in the distance, up a curving set of stone stairs leading towards more residential areas. On particularly boring days, she often found herself staring out toward it, an act which more than once gave her the motivation to get active and head for a walk.

Hitomi looked down to the road beneath and saw it was as empty as ever. The streets would probably see more life tonight since it was Friday, but even then it tended to stay fairly quiet. The neighbourhood was generally friendly, and only on rare occasions did anything out-of-sorts happen.

Bright red parasols of a small open air café caught her attention. Only a few patrons were there, probably getting in their morning coffee before work. Their selection wasn't great, Hitomi thought, but it was a small family run business and they were always pleasant to her when she met them, so she was glad to see they could still make their living from it. It had nothing against the one she regularly visited though.

She looked out at the far-off buildings again, and then smiled, realising how lucky she was to have gotten a place like this. If it hadn't been for her third place earnings in Dead or Alive 3, she would probably still be living with her Father, or at the very least, an apartment ten times worse.

Eventually, she managed to drag herself back inside, and headed off to have a shower.

Hitomi knew that she would have looked quite the sight for anyone that happened to gaze up while she was standing out there. Her brown hair was frazzled and she was hardly dressed for being outside at all. But honestly, she felt so euphoric this morning that she simply didn't care.

_It's not the worst they've seen, I guess._

The warm water from the shower splashed onto her skin, yet she shuddered as a two year old memory crept into her head; how an even stronger feeling of happiness had led to a rather embarrassing incident, one that hadn't occurred to her at the time.

As it turned out, half-naked dancing in front of an open window was something that was both frowned open and greatly appreciated in equal measure.

Hitomi lathered her hair with her favourite shampoo.

But you know what: she didn't damn well care then either! If they had experienced even half of what she felt on that day, they probably would have done the same thing.

Still, she learned from her mistakes. No dancing or practice without at least a shirt on. Not that she would have called it a mistake anyway.

Although, had Father managed to catch wind of it, she dreaded to think what might have happened…but thankfully, he never did.

Hitomi powered the showerhead again to rinse the suds from her now clean hair as she stroked her hands through it, leaning her head back to let the water hit her face. Then with a wild shake of her head, sending even more water everywhere, she finished up and stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy white towel around herself.

She swept her hand on the large mirror, left to right, clearing some of the steam that had built up on it and caught a glimpse of her face. Her cheeks were reddened, hair clung to the side of her face and shoulders, her fringe matted down and almost covering her eyes.

She narrowed her eyes, as if scrutinising little details, and tilted her head a bit.

Some would call her beautiful, sometimes right to her face. But truth be told, Hitomi wasn't really sure. She looked…alright, she supposed. Plain, pretty normal. She saw nothing special, honestly. She ate right, kept herself fit, didn't smoke, enjoyed the occasional drink – but then who didn't? If that's all it took to look after yourself and be considered 'beautiful', then there were a lot of good looking people in the world.

She was just who she was. Hitomi, nothing more. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

With a cheery smile to herself, she took another towel and wrapped it beehive shape around the top of her head as she bounced back into the bedroom and waited for it to dry, picking out what she would wear for the day.

Her clothing was as simple as herself. She took out some black undies and socks, then slid open the wardrobe and hunted down a plain white tanktop and a pair of stonewashed jeans. When ready, she whipped off the towels and put on her clothes quickly, then took a brush off the table and sat down on the bed as she ran it through her hair.

She hated how it always, without fail, managed to catch itself on a big clump of hair at least once every brush, and how it stung when she had to wrestle to break it free. Today was no exception, and she winced as she drove it down with a hard tug. Funny thing was, it was never the brushes she bought that were the problem. It was the hair.

_Too much hair_, she thought. _Much too much._

Hitomi set the brush back, then lifted her favourite pink hairband and set it in place, using the mirror to make sure she got it sitting exactly right. There was rarely ever a day that you would ever see her without it. She liked it too much to _not _wear it.

Hitomi placed her hands on her hips and gave herself a once over in the mirror. Satisfied, she collected the towels and the clothes she'd worn to bed and threw them into the washing machine kept in the kitchen. There wasn't enough room for it anywhere else, so she had to compromise. While the apartment was spacious, it was still limited. One bedroom, a bathroom, the _tiniest _utility closet and a living room with an open plan kitchen.

Granted, the living room was _massive_. And the kitchen…good God, the kitchen was everything she could ever want! Like it was made especially for her.

Hitomi really couldn't imagine where she would have ended up without this place.

She opened up the fridge, double checking for everything she needed. She never kept a strict schedule for grocery shopping, instead simply doing it whenever it was needed. And right now, it was _desperately_ needed. No ingredients and no food made Hitomi a hungry, hungry girl. Eating out would not be an option.

There was a grocery store not too far from her, about a half-hour walk. Usually she would take her bike or use one of the closer convenience stores if she only needed a few things, but this was going to be an extensive shop, so she decided the tram would be the best option.

It seemed like the day would stay pleasant, so she figured she could get away with not taking a jacket. She locked the balcony doors and grabbed her keys and wallet from the kitchen counter, then stopped, tapping her index finger against her chin as she tried to think if there was anything else she needed. Nope, everything seemed to be in order.

She slipped on her pair of old, reliable boots, though they weren't as comfortable as the trainers she had brought with her to the tournament, which then proceeded to get thoroughly destroyed after everything she put them through. They were cheap though, not like what she had on now. Those bad boys had met more than one face, via kick-mail express.

Hitomi giggled to herself as she left the apartment. She was rather proud of that joke. No one ever laughed at it though.

She'd only just stepped onto the street when she slapped her forehead, realising something. She had forgotten to do her kata practices this morning! She _never_ forgot them. The deepest sigh escaped from her lips.

_I'll do them as soon as I get back, I swear._

Hitomi could never tell why she always hummed to herself whenever she went shopping. Sure, she would pick up a few strange looks from time to time, but she would simply smile at them and move on.

Perhaps it was one way to keep herself entertained in what was ultimately a boring process. But then grocery shopping wasn't that bad to her either.

She rolled a trolley down the aisle, leaning her arms horizontal across the handlebar, periodically throwing whatever she thought she needed into the already half-filled basket. She never bothered with the notion of making a shopping list. Always seemed like a lot of hassle for what it was worth, since she could usually remember what she was missing at home anyway.

Had she taken her bike, she would have had to take care in how much she bought. Carrying a full load of groceries while cycling was not the easiest thing in the world. But since she took the tram down, she stocked the basket with impunity, though still never taking more than she needed. The weight of the bags wouldn't matter; she was strong enough to handle it.

As Hitomi made her way towards the fresh produce – where the _real _fun began – she found herself witnessing the rarest of all sights; down one of the aisles she caught a glimpse of a thin, lanky frame with longish, sandy brown hair, visible through the glass of the open freezer door. His brow furrowed in concentration as he scanned over the shelves.

Hitomi felt a cheeky smirk brewing on her lips and turned to walk his way. He didn't notice her, so she snuck up behind him and slapped her hands on his shoulder, making him jump.

"Boo!"

He spun around looking worried, but when he saw Hitomi, his face relaxed slightly.

"Jeez," Leo said, sounding a little out of breath, "you tryin' to kill me?"

Hitomi stepped back and shrugged. "Wasn't planning on it." Leo pressed his palm into his chest, taking deep breaths. Hitomi tilted her head a little. "Didn't mean to scare you _that_ bad."

"You didn't scare me. Just…don't do it again, alright?" Hitomi gave a small giggle.

"I'll try."

He drew some air through his nose, held it, then circled his lips and breathed out, looking a lot calmer now. Then he looked at her, confused.

He asked: "When did you get back?"

"Couple of days ago."

"Ah. Right." He nodded. "And you didn't come upstairs to say hello. That's nice." She rubbed back of her head, a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry. It slipped my mind."

"Hmm. Well-" He planted a light punch into her arm. "-I'll forgive ya anyway."

"Of course." She landed a little punch of her own. "Who could stay mad at me?"

They shared a laugh, and a little silence came between them.

Leo was a good friend of hers, way back from primary school, back when they both felt as awkward about themselves as each other. But that felt so long ago, and they had grown up a lot since then. He always kept his hair in that long-for-a-boy state since high school, which came down just above his shoulders in messy looking strands. He called it a 'stylistic choice'. It suited his normally scrappy appearance, although he did make the effort to look good sometimes. He had a rounded nose that, Hitomi admitted, looked rather cute, and a pair of expressive, bright green eyes.

She felt a bit sorry for him that he hadn't managed to snag himself a girlfriend yet, try as he might. But then again, he had his downsides. She really wished he wouldn't drink so much.

Nowadays, he lived one floor above her in the apartment complex, thanks to his roommate named Michael, a friend of his who had given him somewhere to stay. But he was a different story.

"So," Hitomi said. "It's not often you ever do your own shopping."

"Course I do." He glanced away for a moment. Then back. "When no one else is looking."

"Yeah right. That's not the Leo I know. What gives?"

"Well, you know." Leo picked an item off the middle shelf and closed the door. "Things change."

Hitomi gave a little smile and nodded. "It's good to see you looking after yourself, for a start."

"Can't stay lazy all my life."

"Now all you've gotta do is stop overdosing on Bock and you're set." Leo simply groaned and pinched his nosebridge.

"Hitomi, don't start."

"It's not healthy."

"And it's not the worst thing either." Hitomi pouted at him and frowned.

"Still, you need to watch out for yourself."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Jeez, do you know how much it sucks knowing someone as good livin' as you?"

She raised a finger right in front of his face. "Firstly, doesn't suck: is awesome." Then she put her hands to her hips. "And I have my moments too, y'know."

Leo laughed. "'Is awesome'. At least your ego's still in one piece, eh?" Hitomi shrugged, smiling wide. Leo's face went a little grim. "It sucks you didn't win the tournament thing. I was watching you on the tv, honestly thought you had it. You must be pretty bummed out."

Hitomi shook her head, her eyes closed gently. "Can't win them all."

"That last guy though…_man_ was he annoying!" Leo brought his hands up to his head, rubbing his temple with his fingers. "Guy was giving me a headache just from listening to him. Was sooo hoping you'd kick his ass."

"Well, he's a good fighter."

"Yeah, but, there's a limit," he said. Sounded exasperated. "Everything was a damn war cry with him."

Hitomi shrugged, showing only the top row of her teeth in a smile. "He probably does it because it's distracting."

"Well good work on his part, I had to mute the tv just so I could keep watching." Hitomi laughed out at that and then rubbed the corner of her eye.

"That sounds about right," she said. "At least you were able to mute him."

"I felt so sorry for you."

Again, Hitomi shrugged, holding onto the handlebar of her trolley. "I was used to it. Don't hate on Jann either, he's a really skilled fighter."

At that, Leo screwed up his mouth, pushing it upwards, then said, "Maybe. Still though, thought you were better than him."

"Awww, thanks." He lifted his shoulder, raising his arms up as if to say 'No problem'.

They looked at each other for a moment and smiled. Leo's was rather wiry, yet kind.

"Anyway," Hitomi said, twisting her hands around the circular handlebar, "I'll let you get back to shopping. Still can't believe you're actually doing it! Yourself!"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. Hitomi loved to tease him about that, even though it wasn't exactly true. She'd come by him plenty of times while doing her own shopping, but even still, it never stopped her from having a bit of fun with him.

Leo sniffed and rubbed his nose with the sleeve of his jacket. "Do you have much left to get?" he asked.

"Not really. Fruit and veg mostly."

"I'll come with."

Hitomi turned her trolley and headed with Leo to the store's large produce section. The two friends made idle chit-chat as Hitomi fretted over the fresh foods, making sure every piece she picked was perfect as could be; testing the firmness of the tomatoes, the scent of the basil, the size of the cabbages.

There were some days she could spend hours making absolutely sure that everything she bought met her satisfaction. As an aspiring chef, she believed you needed the best ingredients to make the perfect meal.

Leo, on the other hand, grabbed the first thing he saw and chucked it in, barely even paying attention. Hitomi couldn't _imagine_ ever doing something like that.

"So, umm," Leo began. Hitomi turned her head from her cabbage inspection and saw a prideful look on his face. "Almost forgot. Guess who got accept-ted!" His voice was almost sing-song. Hitomi stood straight.

"Really? To Uni?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"No way. Already?"

"Yup."

"Wow, congrats!" She was genuinely happy for her friend. "When did you find out?"

"Last week. Letter and phonecall and everything."

"Awesome." After a second, Hitomi gasped and clapped her hands twice excitedly, going 'oooh'. "That means we're gonna be campus buddies."

"Ohhhhh joy." He had to stop himself from laughing.

"Now now, don't be like that. It'll be fun. I can show you around on your first day." For a moment, Leo tightened his lips.

"You know, that sounds pretty good. I'll hold you to that."

"Oh you bet." Hitomi shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "It's good you finally saw the light and started a course." She poked his stomach with her pointer, making him flinch a little. "I always said you were too good for factory work."

Leo rubbed at the spot she had poked, his brow lowered. "Honestly, it wasn't going anywhere. I mean, I'm still there for now. Need the money for when I start and all. I'm looking forward to it."

Hitomi nodded once and smiled. "That's good."

"It's not like History's going to open up anything else for me, but eh. Whaddya do?"

"Ahhh don't think like that."

Leo shrugged. "What can I say? Never was an optimist. Should've taken a leaf out of your book."

He went 'ow' when Hitomi jabbed another finger, this time into his arm. "You better study hard!" Her friend laughed out loud.

"Yeah right! Dream on."

"Tut-tut. So typical."

"Hey, if one day's revision got me through my Abi, it'll get me through this too."

They shared a small chuckle. Then Leo stretched his arms, and gripped his trolley. "Now," he said, "as much fun as it's been talking with you Tomi – for, like, 6 hours – I gotta get going. Good to have you back, by the way." He rolled off, giving Hitomi a two fingered salute which she returned along with a happy giggle.

"See you around, Leo."

Wearing a happy expression, Hitomi finally resumed her cabbage inspection.

Leo hadn't noticed the cut under her eye. That was good. Means it wasn't noticeable, as she thought.

But then this was Leo. He wouldn't notice a barn cow if he was sitting on one.

It didn't take her long to find a suitable cabbage. _For once, _she thought.

After a quick visit to the toiletries aisle, she paid and packed at one of the self-service checkouts and headed out. When she glanced to the sky, she saw grey clouds ever so slowly coming her way. _That's not good. _

And to make it worse, a chill wind nipped at her bare arms, already weighed down by a few days' worth of groceries.

Looked like she'd made the wrong prediction about today's weather.

Hitomi pushed herself down the footpath, keeping a quick pace and waited until she could board the tram home. Thankfully, it arrived in a couple of minutes, and took another eight or so until the next stop, not too far away from her apartment.

When she stepped out, she could already feel raindrops splashing against her.

_Oh crap._

And as she ran down, seeing the entrance to the complex getting closer and closer, the water lashed down harder and harder.

_Ohhh shit!_

She broke into a sprint, seeing a few other people out for a morning walk step off into shelter from the downpour. Water flowed down her face; she could feel it dribbling down her back, beneath her shirt. The items in her bag clanged together as they flung around.

By the time she reached the overhang of the apartment building, she was drenched. She looked back out at the rain with amazement. Literally two minutes out in it and she'd been soaked through. She looked down at her tank-top and saw it had turned transparent, showing clearly that she was wearing a pure black bra.

_Well_, she thought, heading into the building, _at least no-one else saw it._

She walked up the stairs, bags hanging heavily at her side, water dripping off her and onto the wooden floorboards below. She practically burst through her apartment door, then threw her back against it.

"Safe," she muttered. The sound of raindrops bashing against the balcony window filled the room.

She looked down again, tugged at the hem of her tank top and flattened her lips.

This called for another shower of the pleasant variety.


	3. Chapter 3

Come rain or shine, sleet or snow, any day Hitomi had a valid reason to take more than one shower in the space of an hour was nothing but a good day through and through. It was one of the reasons that made owning an electric shower so worthwhile.

She might even have gotten away with three if she hadn't forced herself to do her daily kata's before showering again, after getting caught in the rain. Had to put down restrictions after all.

With all her groceries stored away and nothing else to do, she made herself a light snack of salad sandwiches – her stomach growled all the way through her shower since she hadn't eaten breakfast yet – and produced two books from the bookshelf. Not for entertainment however.

The fifth semester of her _Bachelor's degree in Sport's Science _was looming on the horizon. Well, _technically _the full title was _Promotion of Health through Exercise_, but the other way she could somewhat say "I'm a scientist" with a straight face.

You would never have expected a course based around sports to be particularly difficult, but she had to work her ass off for the theory side of it. She would straight up call anyone who said it wasn't challenging either a show-off or a liar.

With an exam due about a week after the winter semester starts – more of a 'let's see how much you remember' test than anything important - she wanted to make sure her terminology and knowledge were up to scratch, since her travelling escapade had eaten into her studying time, and pretty much made her forget all about it. It could really stress her out sometimes.

After a certain…incident concerning her father, which happened almost two years ago, she had to excuse herself from studying to look after him. Thankfully, the University understood and while it may have messed up her schedule, they let her off, provided she made up for the semester she missed - in her own time - and, also, re-sat an entrance exam upon coming back. And boy did she hate having to go through that torture again!

The whole period was a supremely rough time for Hitomi though. Had her father not made it through his illness, she might not be in the position she was now. She wouldn't have known what to do…

She did not like to think about it.

Curled up on the couch, wearing a comfortable pair of grey sweatpants and a loose blue t-shirt, she studied for the better part of an hour, keeping the television volume down low for a bit of background noise.

She also wore a pair of red-framed reading glasses, which sat neatly on her nose. The strange thing was she wasn't farsighted. Her vision was close to perfect, both long and short, but when it came to small fonts she encountered great difficulty focusing on words. Ever since she was eight she had to wear glasses, but the problem never seemed to fix itself. And you knew how kids were with glasses at that age. It caused a little blip on her self-confidence when she was younger, but now, she didn't mind at all. They looked rather cute.

The rain from earlier had died down but looked as though it could break out again at any time. It made knowing when it would be safe to go out again difficult.

In need of a break, Hitomi took off her glasses and set them on the table behind her and rested the book on her lap. She stared at it as an idea began to form in her head.

_Wonder what Fran is up to. _

There were many little things she had forgotten to do whenever she got home, and when she realised that she hadn't informed her best friend of her return, a heavy feeling of embarrassment weighed her down. Busy or not, that was something she should have done immediately, not two days later.

And knowing Fran, if she found out Hitomi'd been back for two days now there would be a wave of upset.

_But,_ Hitomi thought as she reached back toward the table for her cellphone. _What she doesn't know…_

…except her cellphone wasn't sitting on the table, which surprised her. She leaned over the arm of the sofa, checking around the small table to see if it had fallen on the floor, then almost immediately sighed, annoyed with herself.

It was still in her bedroom. She forgot to take it off the charger this morning.

_Oh Hitomi…_

She padded her bare feet away to the bedroom and took it off the bedside desk, snapping the charger's cable out of the socket.

Then, when she walked back into the living room, looking at the screen and preparing to send a message, she threw her arms to her side and her head back, and groaned out loud as she remembed something else.

She still had to send Leifang an email as well.

Hitomi swore that she was becoming as forgetful as her father with every day that passed, and that was a frightening prospect.

She flopped back down on the sofa, put her feet up on the seat and pulled her legs towards her chest, hunting down Fran's name on the display and then typing out her text.

_'Soooo I was wondering if maybe you wud like to come down to my apartment for a lil' visit sometime today. it's been a while since we last saw each other.  
And make sure you take an umbrella cause it was rainn~y earlier. I got soaked :( '_

After a quick proofread, Hitomi nodded and pressed _Send. _

She straightened her legs out and rested her head comfortably against the arm of the sofa. She zapped through station after station on the television, trying to find something to watch and almost giving up in frustration. It was no secret that early day programmes, to put it eloquently, absolutely _sucked_.

In the end she landed on some talk show discussing the current economic position of Germany in the European Union. Or something. It was somehow the least terrible thing on TV at the moment, but she paid more attention to the ceiling than the screen.

Some study break this was.

After ten or so minutes, Hitomi's phone vibrated against her tummy, tickling her a little. She flipped the screen up and saw Fran had finally replied.

'_youre back?'_

Hitomi smirked at that. She sat up then moved her legs off the seat to sit down properly.

'_Yeah. duh :P' _

Hitomi looked at the television. An elderly man was blathering passionately about the state of the Euro. She groaned and turned the screen off using the remote. That was enough TV for one day.

She tapped her feet on the polished wooden floor and looked around her apartment lazily. Then looked down at her books, sitting at the side of the sofa. She blasted some air from her mouth up into her face, rustling her fringe. This wasn't so bad, she guessed. Sitting about. Taking it easy. Everyone deserved to relax every once in a while. Probably.

Oh who was she kidding? She was bored as hell.

All she had was studying, cooking and sleeping on the agenda. She still needed things to fill in the gaps between them. It could rain again any minute, and she didn't want to risk getting caught out in it, so going outside would be tenuous. She threw her back against the black leather sofa and sighed.

What she would give to get back to the dojo right away.

She held her white and black cellphone up in the air, looking at it and wishing Fran would hurry up and answer.

It took her friend another ten minutes to text back, by which point Hitomi had already moved into the kitchen and hoked through her fridge and freezer and decided what she would make for lunch. Beef stir-fry sounded good.

Fran wrote:  
_'welcome home girl! u gotta tell me all about your trip! i cant come down now tho we're busy in the garage and they need me here to help out and then im gonna be away with mama tonight to some dinner thing, idk what it is. sorry :(  
but I promise we will meet up soon ok? maybe tomorrow if u are free?'_

Hitomi felt a pang of disappointment. She almost forgot Fran was more or less a full time worker now. But at the same time she thought: good for her. The opportunity was there once they graduated from high-school, and Fran made the decision that she felt was right for herself. Hitomi still to this day found her choice of profession very unbecoming of her looks.

But then, you should never judge a book by its cover.

It was lonely for Hitomi at times, not having her friend with her in University, but she knew she was happy at least.

_'Awwww that sucks about work,' _Hitomi typed._ 'hope you have a nice time tonight anyway.  
And of course, tomorrow is great! same time, same place?' _

This time, her friend responded almost instantly.

_'yes indeedy, cant wait to see you again'_

A wide smile grew on Hitomi's face.

_'Same here :) '_

She flipped the phone closed and held it still for a while, squeezing down on it ever so slightly. Her face felt warm, probably because she was excited. Fran was one of very few people that Hitomi could safely call her best friend, alongside Leo – though she would never say it to his face – and that certain young Chinese woman whom she first met at Dead or Alive.

To think _that_ friendship had started because of a cabbage…

The German girl shook Leifang off her mind, only remembering one detail.

_Note to self: email her later_

She set the phone down on the kitchen counter and went to wash the vegetables she'd already placed in the sink.

She was sure Fran had accumulated a lot of gossip while she was away. While Hitomi never really paid attention to all the word on the street, Fran kept a constant finger on the city's pulse and there was never much that slipped by her. And although Hitomi wouldn't call herself a gossip gal, she absolutely loved hearing Fran's pointless, rambling insights on things both of them neither knew, nor indeed cared about. She was simply good to talk to.

Hitomi dried her hands and grabbed a slightly weathered wok from the kitchen cupboard underneath the counter, one that had fried up many a meal in its time. She put it on the hob for now, then set a white chopping board on the counter, followed by a full head of cabbage on top of that. She procured a knife from the board behind her.

"Now then Mr Cabbage," she said as she turned, twirling the knife around her hand skilfully, _dangerously_. She gripped the side of the cabbage tight and skirted the blade just above its centre with a playful smirk.

"Let's see what secrets you hold."


End file.
